The Latest Nectarine Cultivation Techniques: A Detailed Tutorial
The scientific name of the nectarine is Prunus persica var. nucipersica. The nectarine is a variant of the common peach (whose skin is covered with fuzz). Wild nectarines grow in the northwestern regions of our country, where they are locally called "Li Guang Tao". Their adaptability to soil and climate, as well as their cultivation techniques, are basically the same as those of the common peach. Based on past mistaken understanding, the “peach-plum” was thought to be a fruit produced by grafting a peach onto a plum tree of the same genus, or else a hybrid of peach and plum, “so” its appearance is as smooth as a plum, but its taste and texture are similar to those of a peach.
Nectarine cultivation techniques are basically the same as those for other peach trees, but in order to fully preserve the characteristics of this variety and achieve high and stable yields, the following key cultivation technique points are specially introduced:
Orchard Site Selection
The nectarine has a relatively short dormant period, sprouts and blooms early, likes sunlight, is not tolerant of shade, fears waterlogging, and is not suited to clay soil. Therefore, a plot should be chosen that has a relatively high temperature, a good microclimate, few late frosts, is sheltered from the wind and faces the sun, and has loose, fertile soil with good aeration and drainage.
Variety Selection
Nectarines are divided into early, mid-season and late varieties according to their ripening period. You can flexibly choose which varieties to cultivate according to the local market supply.
Raising Seedlings
Propagation can be done by grafted seedlings, top grafting to change the canopy, and other methods. The rootstock used is wild peach (Prunus davidiana) or sour peach.
Pollinator Varieties
Nectarine flowers produce a large amount of pollen and have strong self-pollination ability. Cross-pollination can enhance their fruit characteristics, so when cultivating, other nectarines can be appropriately planted in combination, which will result in better fruit quality.
Planting
Planting is best done after the soil thaws in spring and after leaf fall in autumn. The planting density is preferably 55--64 plants/mu. Planting method: trench planting or large-hole planting can be used, and the planting hole should be 80--60 cm. Use 10 kg of crop straw per plant and 200 kg of farmyard manure, then backfill soil in layers and plant the tree; do not apply chemical fertilizer. After planting, immediately head the tree according to the intended tree shape, and cover the tree basin with plastic film.
Soil, Fertilizer and Water Management
1. Soil management. The purpose is to create a deep, loose, nutrient-rich soil environment for the root system. Before establishing the orchard, deep plowing and fertilization should be carried out, or soil should first be dug out and fertilizer applied in a concentrated manner; afterwards, combined with autumn base fertilizer application, the planting holes should be gradually enlarged.
① Cultivation and weeding. The nectarine has a well-developed root system and requires good aeration conditions. During the growing season, cultivation and weeding should be carried out several times to keep the surface soil loose, which is beneficial for the rapid growth of nectarines.
② Reasonable intercropping. In young orchards, to improve the use of light, heat, water and air resources in the land, appropriate intercropping can be done, but only with green manure crops, melons and vegetables, beans, and other low-growing, short-canopy crops that do not affect growth and development, do not spread related pests and diseases, and do not compete with the trees for fertilizer and water.
2. Fertilization. Base fertilizer is mainly farmyard manure, supplemented with superphosphate. Starting from the second year after planting, apply 150--200 kg of base fertilizer per plant each year; for young trees (2--4 years), nitrogen fertilizer is the main type, applying 1--4 kg per plant per year, with an appropriate amount of phosphorus and potassium. Once they enter the fruiting stage, gradually increase the proportion of nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, generally preferably 2:3:2, and appropriately supplement other trace elements.
3. Irrigation. In areas with annual rainfall above 500 mm, irrigation may not be necessary. However, because spring in our region is relatively dry, in order to ensure normal development or avoid late frost damage, it is required to give one full irrigation during the germination period after thawing, and one irrigation before the soil freezes.
Training and Pruning
The nectarine tree has relatively strong apical dominance, many branches, fast new shoot growth, and easily formed flower buds. It is especially important to train a high-yielding tree shape early. Commonly used forms are the three-main-branch natural open-center form, the two-main-branch open-center form, and the short-close spaced layered form, but these should be flexibly controlled according to the cultivation method, density, and so on.
1. Open-center form. This canopy is relatively tall and large, with many fruiting positions that can make full use of space, and high yield; it is suitable for a pure peach orchard. Training generally requires two or three main branches, that is, head the tree at 50--60 cm in the current year, then later select and retain the first main branch at 40 cm from the ground, and select and retain the second and third main branches at about 20 cm from the first main branch. The retained main branches should be robust, evenly and flatly distributed in three directions around the trunk. All other branches are controlled in growth and kept as auxiliary branches. During winter pruning, the main branches are appropriately shortened to let them extend and expand the canopy. Leave 2--3 side branches at intervals of about 30 cm on each main branch. For the remaining branches, prune according to their position by removing the weak and keeping the strong, removing upward-growing ones and keeping side ones, and removing distant ones and keeping near ones. In summer, when new shoots grow to 40 cm, pinch them promptly to promote secondary shoots, and thin out upright vigorous shoots on the back and dense branches, so as to achieve ventilation and light penetration and train the fruiting framework early.
2. Short-close spaced layered form. This is suitable for row-strip planting in orchards. Training requires selecting 5--7 main branches, that is, heading the tree at 40--60 cm in the current year, then later leaving the first main branch at 50 cm from the ground, and leaving 5--7 main branches at 50 cm intervals in staggered directions. Leave 2--3 side branches on each main branch, and train the remaining branches as auxiliary branches, gradually forming an upper-lower structure. This can make full use of the light and water between orchard rows and increase income per unit area.
3. Flower and fruit thinning. Adopt the approach of “light first, then heavy”, carried out in stages, and it can also be combined with summer pruning. The method is: appropriately shorten slender flowering branches, cut back drooping flowering branches, and thin out diseased, weak and densely crowded flowering branches. The first fruit thinning is carried out in mid-May, mainly thinning out twin fruits, deformed fruits, small fruits, base fruits, tip fruits, and so on. The second fruit thinning is carried out from late May to early June. Generally, long fruiting branches retain 2--3 fruits, medium fruiting branches retain 1--2 fruits, and short fruiting branches retain 1 fruit. The leaf-to-fruit ratio should not be lower than 50:1, and the fruit spacing should not be less than 20 cm.
4. Bagging. During the fruit enlargement period, nectarines often suffer natural disasters, causing fruit cracking and dirty fruit surfaces, greatly reducing the rate of marketable fruit. In order to improve nectarine fruit quality and achieve green food standards, bagging technology is adopted, which can remedy many drawbacks and is economical and effective. That is, it is carried out after fruit thinning in mid-to-late June each year. Ordinary single-layer paper bags or plastic bags sold on the market can be used for bagging, with the same method as apple bagging technology.
Pest and Disease Control
The main pests and diseases of nectarines include: peach anthracnose, brown rot, little leaf disease, peach aphid, spider mite, leaf miner, and so on. For these pests and diseases, spray 5-degree lime sulfur mixture once before germination; after flower fall, spray once with 10% imidacloprid wettable powder at 2000 times; in early May and mid-to-late June, spray 72% agricultural streptomycin at 3000 times plus 800 times dichlorvos respectively, which can control little leaf disease, peach aphid and various other pests and diseases. After fruit harvest, promptly remove residual fruits, diseased fruits, and diseased branches and leaves, so as to achieve prevention first, observe at all times and control promptly, and ensure the healthy growth of the tree year-round.